Pre-Op Weight Loss Improves Outcomes of Bariatric Surgery

TUESDAY, Feb. 13, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- Excess weight loss (EWL) immediately preceding bariatric surgery is associated with improved outcomes, according to a study published online Feb. 2 in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons.

Deborah A. Hutcheon, D.C.N., from the Greenville Health System in South Carolina, and colleagues examined the impact of short-term preoperative EWL on postoperative outcomes for 167 patients who underwent sleeve gastrectomy and 188 who underwent Roux-en-Y gastric bypass between 2014 and 2016. The patients were divided into two cohorts and analyzed according to those who achieved ≥8 percent EWL (224 patients) during a four-week low-calorie diet period immediately preceding surgery and those who did not (131 patients). Primary end points included percent EWL postoperatively at months one, three, six, and 12.

"Preoperative weight loss of ≥8 percent excess weight, while following a four-week low-calorie diet, is associated with a significantly greater rate of postoperative EWL over one year, as well as shorter operative duration and hospital length of stay," the authors write.